Moldova - Mamaliga
Recipe from https://nomadparadise.com/mamaliga-recipe/
Moldova's Mamaliga is another simple dish; just 3 ingredients of cornmeal, water and salt (and optional butter, which I did add, but is not necessary). The cornmeal and water mix is cooked down on the hob until the mixteure thickens into a pap-like (see Namibia in previous post) solid block with a characteristic bright yellow colour, traditionally cut into cubes with wire or cotton string. It is commonly paired with feta, as I've prepared it here.
Turkmenistan - Ishleki
Recipe from https://turkmenkitchen.com/en/2012/09/07/turkmen-shepherds-pie/
The recipe I followed for Ishleki described it as "Turkmen shepherd's pie", though the main similarity I noticed between it and what I recognise as a Brit to be shepherd's pie was simply the addition of lamb. The lamb is cooked up with tomato, red pepper and onion, then cooked inside a sandwiched enriched dough of butter, flour and water. I think my crust was slightly thicker than it should have been, simply due to the fact that I didn't have a big enough tray to fit a full-sized Ishleki on. Traditionally it is baked in hot sand and embers, but unfortunately my oven had to do. What I found particularly interesting is that apparently it's very common to serve with melon slices, which I have to say I did quite enjoy.
North Macedonia - Tavche Gravche
North Macedonia's Tavche Gravche (literally "beans cooked in a pan") is a dish of white beans (I used cannellini) cooked with bay leaves, chillis, paprika, garlic and onion, garnished with mint and parsley. I served it with sausages, as suggested by the recipe. The meal was definitely in need of vegetables, so I added red pepper as suggested by another recipe. The flavourings were very tasty, but if I were to make it again, I think I would increase the spice amounts significantly as the beans were perhaps a bit big for the suggested amounts.
Mauritius - Dhal puri
Supplementary recipes from https://mauritianfoodrecipes.com/all-recipes/curry-lima-beans-with-beef-cari-gros-pois-et-viande/ and https://mauritianfoodrecipes.com/all-recipes/plain-rougaille-rougaille-tout-nu/
Mauritius' Dhal Puri is a thin, pancake like flatbread of split peas, flavoured and coloured with turmeric. They were a fair amount of hassle to make, with a separate dough with soaked, cooked, dehydrated and blended splitpeas folded in before rolling out. I served the flatbread, as suggested by the recipe, with rougaille tout nu and a beef and lima bean curry. The roughaille tout nu is a spicy creole tomato sauce with chilli and coriander, and the lima bean curry was flavoured with turmeric and tamarind. A very tasty meal, but required a lot of preparation before eating!
Myanmar - Mohinga
Recipe from https://www.theburmalicious.com/blog/mohinga
Mohinga is Myanmar's answer to spicy fish stew, well worth the need to open all the windows during cooking! The stew is flavoured with coriander, freshly made fish stock, ginger, lemongrass, chilli, garlic, fish sauce, shallots and paprika and filled with glass noodles, hardboiled egg, monkfish, lime, pearl onions and freshly made calabash fritters. A firm favourite of mine so far!